Echo
Echo is part of the Eriopei system in Hex #0202. Summary Planet in the Eriopei System, home to the EchoChamber of PRISM Network Geography Continents * Sapphire: Triangular shape continent in the southern hemisphere that stretches to the southern pole of Echo. Two thirds of the continent are covered year round in ice and glaciers. This is the least populous of Echo's three continents. * Emerald: Crescent shaped continent (inverse C) centered on the equator. The remnant of a catastrophic geologic event that resulted in a massive crater, Emerald has a diameter of roughly 9,000 kilometers. The crescent chain runs from ten kilometers at its most narrow, to 3,000 kilometers at its widest. This is the most populous of Echo’s three continents. * Ruby: A broad and long continent, Ruby runs from the equator all the way to the northern pole Echo. Roughly one third of this continent remains covered in ice and glaciers year round. The most notable features of this continent are the abundant mountain ranges that stretch across the eastern part through the middle of the Ruby, and much of the continent between the mountains and the northern ice sheets is covered in desert. Cities The largest cities on Echo were the sties of original settlement began, primarily near rivers or oceans. These cities have names derived from different birds of prey, a reference to the Emperox who founded the Prism Network. * Talon (Capital - Emerald) * Peregrine (Ruby) - Now known for blade racing circuit * Claw (Sapphire) - Origin as a prison and interrogation center. * Kestrel (Emerald) * Sparrow (Emerald) Examples of smaller cities and settlements, named after elements of the Hebrew alphabet: Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet, He, Vav, Zayin, Het, Tet, Yod, Kaf, Lamed, Mem, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Pe, Tsadi, Qof, Resh, Shin, Tav Geographic features Culture The Cast(e) System Editors: They are called Editors for a reason. They edit and are responsible for overreaching systems of the planet/wider Prism. An Editor of Advertising has the power and authority to change any and all advertisements for the region they are responsible for. An Editor of Intelligence is responsible for all data collection, counterintelligence, and education for their region. The format applies to any Editor, and an executive Editor is an individual responsible for all Editors of their department. Stars: These are the people who have the high paying jobs of the modern day. Lawyers, doctors, any highly specialized field. This also includes high profile movie and TV personalities, as well as higher management at corporations like CEOs or CFOs. Talent: The general working class. These are the pencil pushers, the small business owners, the store managers. Extras: These are the people who do the job a robot could do better, but studies have found that real people lead to better sales. Jobs such as waiter/waitress, washing vehicles, call centers, etc. There’s a common phrase on billboards “Every Editor was once an Extra” to emphasize how through auditions even a simple busboy can get discovered and advance the social ladder. Their hours are regulated so that they can only work part-time, the rest of the time must be spent consuming media. Quality Assurance (QA): These are people who have been found through interviews to only be good for testing and consuming products. They have a daily advertisement quota and must attend meetings in which they test products/shows. Others/Misc.: Outside of the system are “consumers”. These are new arrivals, visitors to the planet or the people who live outside the cities on the fringes of society. Some even go as far as living in the wild, shunt every civil contact and do not participate in society. These nutjobs are most often referred to as “Offliners”. The Interview Administered by the company “The IR” (Individual Review) This is the “test” referred to by the Mandarinate. The Interviews are a weeklong ordeal undertaken by every citizen every 5 years after they turn 16 that determines the social class they’re in, as well as the specific job they will have. The Interview tests not only the on-screen aptitude of a citizen but also their physical prowess, mental aptitude, and general knowledge. The physical portion is an obstacle course that is televised. Unless you pay a high fee, you can only qualify to Interview every 5 years. All people upon landing on Echo must undergo a simplified version of the Auditions to be properly evaluated for ad potential and job offers if a subsidiary is looking to hire directly. Crime and Punishment Due to the nature of Echo being heavily monitored and regulated, crimes are often stopped before they happen, leading to one of the lowest crimes rates in the sector. Crimes on Echo are often of a passionate and rebellious nature. If you commit a crime, the punishment is often times very direct and wholly televised. E.g. steal a car and you get hunted down on live T.V. Small crimes can result in public shaming on talk shows and almost guaranteed failure in your next interview and demotion below Extra. Crimes with victims are reimbursed via the earnings of whatever program the criminal appears on. More serious crimes along the lines of murder are treated discreetly and without commotion, often not put out for public consumption until the matter is dealt with and the story can be put out as tragic as possible. Corporate control Whether the populace is aware of it or not, every single business on the planet (from the smallest coffee shop to the privatized police force) is in some way owned by PRISM. The people are too concerned arguing over whether Coke is better than Dr.Pepper to realize that they’re both owned by the same company. Planet Tags Cultural Power The world is a considerable cultural power in the sector, producing music, art, philosophy, or some similar intangible that their neighbors find irresistably attractive. Other worlds might have a profound degree of cultural cachet as the inheritor of some venerable artistic tradition. Enemies: * Murderously eccentric artist * Crazed fa * Failed artist with an obsessive grudge * Critic with a crusade to enact Friends: * Struggling young artist * Pupil of the artistic tradition * Scholar of the art * Offworlder hating the source of corrupting alien ways Complications: * The art is slowly lethal to its masters * The art ismentally or physically addictive * The art is a fragment of ancient technical or military science Things: * The instrument of a legendary master * The only copy of a dead master's opus * Proof of intellectual property ownership Places: * Recording or performance studio * Public festival choked with tourists * Monument to the dead master of the art Mandarinate The planet is ruled by an intellectual elite chosen via ostensibly neutral examinations or tests. The values this system selects for may or may not have anything to do with actual practical leadership skills, and the examinations may be more or less corruptible. Enemies: * Corrupt test administrator * Incompetent but highly-rated graduate * Ruthless leader of a clan of high-testing relations Friends: * Crusader for test reform * Talented but poorly-connected graduate * Genius who tests badly Complications: * The test is totally unrelated to necessary governing skills * The test was very pertinent in the past but tech or culture has changes * The test is for a skill that is vital to maintaining society but irrelevant to day-to-day governance * The test is a sham and passage is based on wealth or influence Things: * Answer key to the next test * Lost essay of incredible merit * Proof of cheating Places: * Massive structure full of test-taking cubicles * School filled with desperate students * Ornate government building decorated with scholarly quotes and academic images Megacorps The world is dominated by classic cyberpunk-esque megacorporations, each one far more important than the vestigial national remnants that encompass them. These megacorps are usually locked in a cold war, trading and dealing with each other even as they try to strike in deniable ways. An over-council of corporations usually acts to bring into line any that get excessively overt in their activities. Enemies: * Megalomaniacal executive * Underling looking to use the PCs as catspaws * Ruthless mercenary who wants what the PCs have Friends: * Victim of megacorp scheming * Offworlder merchant in far over their head * Local reformer struggling to cope with megacorp indifference Complications: * The megacorps are the only source of something vital to life on this world * An autonomous Mandate system acts to punish excessively overt violence * The megacorps are struggling against much more horrible national governments Things: * Blackmail on a megacorp exec * Keycodes to critical corp secrets * Proof of corp responsibility for a heinously unacceptable public atrocity * Data on a vital new product line coming out soon Places: * A place plastered in megacorp ads * A public plaza discreetly branded * Private corp military base Moons Aganame * Moon Base - ''Milankovic 3'' ** Occupation: '''Remnants of a failed colony ** '''Situation: '''Something dark has awoken * '''Research Station ** Occupation: '''Secret employees of a foreign power ** '''Situation: '''Hideously immoral research '''Bizes * Moon Base - ''Tignish 7'' ** Occupation: '''Unlucky corporate researchers ** '''Situation: '''Desperate for vital supplies '''Mumeri A "Harvest Moon" with farms, mines, and other supporting industries. Imperial owned, but run using ACRE assets. Something of a backwater for the Empire, mostly exports material as part of a trade deal between ACRE and PRISM. Refueling Station Lipany 9 '''Occupation: '''Brainless automated vendors '''Situation: '''A ship is in severe distress Category:Planets